Let Me Kiss You like You're Him
by Shatteredsand
Summary: Chloe couldn't kiss Brian, not if she wanted him to live. So she asks Alek for a favor, one she's sure he'll refuse to have any part in.  On HIATUS
1. Let Me Kiss You Like You're Him

**AN: I'm not quite sure where this idea came from, but suddenly it was clawing into my brain and refusing to let go. Kindly leave a review if it wouldn't trouble you greatly. **

**Summary: Chloe couldn't kiss Brian, not if she wanted him to live. So she asks Alek for a favor, one she's sure he'll refuse to have any part in.**

**Warnings: None**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Let Me Kiss You like You're Him**

It isn't fair. Chloe knows that. She feels it deep in her soul, like an aching in her heart. But it doesn't stop her; she won't let it. She needs this.

She _needs_ it.

"Alek…" Chloe looks up at him, all beautiful hard lines and soft green eyes that could go cold in a heartbeat. "I need you to do me a favor."

He just sighs, looking at her almost pleadingly. "I already told you that I can't stop watching you, Chloe."

"I know, I know." She bites her lip nervously, suddenly unsure if she can go through with this. "That's not it."

"Then I'll do my best." He smiles, not a sneer or leer, a genuine smile. It breaks her heart because she knows he means it. He'd die for her if he thought it would help her.

"Mai can't kiss humans, right?"

"You know that. Is this about that ridiculous human boy you're senselessly infatuated with?" There is a gentle reprimand in his voice, a darkening of his jade gaze. She almost changes her mind then, tells him to forget it, that it wasn't important. But it _is_ important to her, and she needs him to do this for her.

"Kinda." She can't keep her eyes on him, can't look at him when she asks this of him. "I want you to kiss me."

Alek doesn't say anything. The silence drags on and Chloe finally forces herself to meet his eyes. They've completely shut down. Like looking into the eyes of the dead.

"Alek, say something." Because she can't stand the uncertainty burdening the still night.

"You want me to kiss you." The words lack the normal joking innuendo she'd expect him to say the words with. No mischievous light in his eyes. No salacious smirk. His voice has no emotion. None. It is as dead as his eyes remain.

"…yes..." She sounds so pathetically small, even to her own ears.

"You want me to kiss you…" And she thinks she feels a flash of rage from him before he's smothering his feeling again. "For _him_."

"Yes." Realizing that Alek isn't going to do it, that she's only managed to make him mad, she tries to backtrack. "But, forget it. I don't know what I was thinking."

And she's turning away from him, takes a step back towards her house. His hand lashes out and grabs a hold of her wrist, turning her back to him. "You want me to do this? To let you pretend for a moment that you could have him?"

"Yes." It's a whisper that barely reaches her own ears, but she knows he'll hear it.

Alek pulls Chloe closer, until she's flush against his chest. She can feel his racing heartbeat, pounding against his chest to meet the racing of her own. The hand on her wrist releases and brushes a lock of hair out of her face, and she closes her eyes. Pictures Brian's hands instead of Alek's, pretends the heart she hears is his.

And then his hand is cupping her face gently and his lips are against hers. Her hands come up, one winding around his neck to knot fingers loosely in hair she imagines behind closed eyes to be brown, the other clutching the fabric of his sweater to pull him closer. His lips are soft and firm as they move against her, and she wants more of him.

His free hand goes to her waist, long fingers just brushing against her spine. His grip is hard, but not painful. Like he's afraid that if he loosens his hold she's disappear. Run away again like she has so many times before.

Chloe finally breaks the kiss when she can no longer put off her need for oxygen. But she keeps her eyes closed, draws out the illusion for as long as she can, holding the wrong boy to her and placing the right one in his stead.

"I love you." The words slip from her lips without thought. The resulting wave of utter and complete agony rips her away from the fantasy and throws her roughly back to earth again. Her eyes snap open.

So close to him she can see the hurt creep into every line of his features, the anguish exposed in his emerald eyes. She can literally feel the sudden trembling of every muscle in his body, even as his breath catches.

And then he's tearing away from her, running faster than she's ever seen him move. And even though she knows she could catch him if she tried, she thinks that maybe she shouldn't. Because, she realizes, she had misread him again. Misunderstood him again.

His earlier anger wasn't because she was ignoring his warning that she shouldn't keep seeing Brian. It was because she wanted to kiss him while imagining someone else, it didn't actually matter who the someone was because it wasn't _him_. He hadn't stood guard outside her house all night every night because he was ordered to. He did it because he wanted to know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that she was safe and the only person he trusted to make sure she was was himself.

And, knowing that it wouldn't be real, knowing that it would hurt him, he had agreed to kiss her.

Because she had asked him to.

**AN: So, I kind of think I want to continue this. Review if it's something you guys would like to see more of. Or should I just leave it as a one-shot?**


	2. For Now I'm Breaking

**AN: I could not believe the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter, so I knew that I just had to post the update as soon as possible. Fingers crossed on having similar results with this chap. **

**Warnings: language**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**For Now I'm Breaking**

Alek couldn't really leave her. It was his duty to ensure that she came to no harm, even as she destroyed him. So he dropped down to street level and followed her route home from a safe distance. Close enough to come to her aid should she need it; far enough way that she had no idea that he was there.

Which is how he ends up standing across the street from her house, hearing acutely tuned to her room where he could listen to the steady sound of her breathing as she sleeps. He knows this spot well; he had used it right after discovering Chloe was the Uniter. Before he knew her well enough to make himself at home on her roof.

He can't believe he had been so careless. Had revealed himself to her. Three months of protecting her, of earning her trust and friendship, gone. Because he couldn't keep his damn _feelings_ to himself. His hands, hands that had so recently held Chloe to him, run through his hair. Eyes closed tightly as he tries to figure out how he managed to screw this up and how he's supposed to fix it.

And he has to fix it.

He has to.

* * *

><p>"Alek!" Chloe says as he passes her in the halls, but he ignores her. He doesn't have a solution right now, and even though he knows avoiding her probably won't help the situation any, he's not ready to talk to her right now.<p>

He can hear her chasing after him, calling his name. She sounds so sad, desperate almost. And he hates himself because it's his fault. Alek had let her hurt him, because he knew that in that moment that was she needed. But he never wanted her to know, never wanted her to feel the guilt he knew she would if she ever found out.

But when Chloe had said those three treacherous words, he couldn't help himself. He couldn't mask the pain fast enough, and she had seen it. Worse, she had _felt_ it. He knows she had.

He must have pissed her off though, blowing her off like he once had before she mattered to him, because the next thing he knows, she's grabbing his shoulder roughly and forcing him to stop, to look at her. He doesn't want to look at her. To be reminded that last night he had kissed those lips and touched that skin and it wasn't even _real_ because she had wanted him to be someone else.

"Look, forget about it. It didn't matter." Alek preempts the apologies he knows are coming. It wasn't her fault. He had agreed. It was _his_ decision. And he doesn't want to talk about this. About how much it had hurt to hear how much she wanted the human, how much she _loved_ him. He doesn't want to deal with it now, in front of the entire school and their eager ears and whispering tongues.

He doesn't want to deal with this ever.

"That's a _lie_, Alek. I was there and, hello, crazy empathy powers, so I know exactly how much it mattered to you." She has her serious resolve face on, the one that told the whole world to come because she would still be standing when the smoke cleared.

"Chloe, last night you asked me for a favor, and I gave you what you _needed_. Anything else is irrelevant."

"How can you say that?" Resolve crumbles into confusion, into disbelief. She doesn't believe him, doesn't realize that he means every word.

"Because, Chloe, you are all that matters. Just _you_." Because she is his Uniter, his savior, his love. And he would do anything for her if it was within his power to do. If he could, he'd even let her have the boy, the human she can never truly have because of who, because of what, she is. If he could, to make her happy, he'd take on the gods themselves to make Brian immune to the Mai's touch.

But he _can't_.

So he walks away from her again. Because he can't handle this, can't talk to her about this. She fucking loves Brian.

There is no room for Alek.

He realizes now, in spite of their growing friendship, regardless of her unwavering trust in him, there never had been.

**AN: Still a chance for me to end it here, with the very depressing realization that Brian has Chloe's heart and Alek does not. Or….I could expand and have Chloe slowly start to realize that she's a complete idiot for ignoring the way Alek goes above and beyond the call of duty for her. **

**AN2: Sorry if Alek seems a little OOC. He just seems like the kind of guy that would beat himself up about something that hurt the people he cared about, even if it wasn't his fault. And I like the idea of him being the hopelessly devoted kind of jilted lover, the "so long as she's happy, it's okay that she isn't happy with **_**me**_**" kind.**


	3. Heartache Heartbeat

**AN: Again, the amount of response for this fic is amazing! So, I had to continue it. Let me know what you think.**

**AN2: The title is terrible. I know that. If you have a better idea feel free to suggest it.**

**Warnings: language**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Heartache Heartbeat**

Chloe sighs as she surveys the nearly deserted park. Jasmine, seeing her disappointment offers a small smile and a shrug. Chloe knows Jasmine doesn't know why Alek suddenly always has somewhere else to be when the time comes for another session of midnight Mai training. But Chloe does.

He's avoiding her.

A few hours of running and sparing, Jasmine finally decides that it's time to call it quits.

"Really?" Chloe is surprised, and immediately suspicious. "I thought that since I didn't have school tomorrow we'd be out here till sunrise."

"That's next time." Jasmine says giving her the same look she had when Chloe had convinced her that training could be blown off just this once for ice cream and girl talk. Chloe closes her eyes, her suspicions confirmed. "This time, I want you to tell me why Alek has been avoiding you like the plague for the last week and a half."

"No idea." Chloe lies with a forced grin.

Jasmine gives her the kind of look she could only have learned from Valentina. "Bullshit."

"Yeah, okay, bullshit." Chloe lets the smile drop like a hundred pound weight. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad. This is a team. Whatever happened is screwing with our ability to protect and train you. So, whatever it is, spill."

"I'm not gonna be able to get out of this, am I?"

"Not a chance."

"So, you know I like Brian, right?" Chloe starts.

"You guys got into a fight because you're still seeing Brian? Really?" Jasmine cannot hide her disbelief.

"Not exactly." Chloe bites her lip nervously, trying to find a way to word this that won't end in a painful death. Possibly more than one. "It's just…well, I can't kiss Brian. Cause it would kill him. But I was thinking about it, and I can kiss Mai, and then…uh…"

"You asked Alek to kiss you so you could pretend." Jasmine fills in the end for her, and then her eyes are closed and there's this grimace twisting her pretty face.

"Yeah…" Chloe isn't sure how she feels about being so transparent. But, at least Jasmine hasn't attacked her in her cousin's defense yet.

"Well, that would do it."

"Did _everyone_ know Alek was into me _except_ me?" Chloe asks exasperated.

"Pretty much." Jasmine pats her back sympathetically. "You were kinda Brian-blinded."

"Ugh." She groans, frustrated. "What should I do about Alek?"

"Nothing you can do, Chloe. I know Alek; he'll come around when he feels like he's in control of himself again."

Chloe nods, hating that she's powerless to try and fix this rift between her and her Protector. She wants to be able to do something, to make it all okay again. To go back to the way things used to be.

* * *

><p>Chloe sneaks back into her room silently. All the lights are still off, but with the new senses, that's hardly a problem. She changes quickly, shedding her old sweats in favor of her comfiest pajamas, before climbing into her bed.<p>

Listening closely, she can pick up the faint sound of Alek's heartbeat, steady and sure, from across the street. Not on her roof where he had located himself during his protection detail for the last three months. But she knows that it's his heart all the same. She could recognize that rhythm among thousands of others, a mile away.

She would never have asked him if she had known this would be the result: him doing everything he could to be as far from her as his orders would permit. And she never would have even considered it if she had known how Alek felt.

She could never intentionally hurt him like that.

She lets the soothing cadence reassure her that Alek isn't going to avoid her forever, and, before she can realize it, the gentle sound lulls her to sleep.

* * *

><p>Chloe wakes to a different tempo than she fell asleep to. This heart is faster, beating twice for every stroke Alek's would have. For a second, Chloe allows blind panic to consume her. Then she forces herself to take a breath and figure out what's really going on. It only takes a moment to realize that her hearing had gotten a little off target in her sleep, now focusing on her mother instead of her protector.<p>

"Chloe?" Chloe's eyes widen as she turns to her window to see said protector there, crouched Spider-Man style on her windowsill. Feet firm on the wood, body hunched over, hands between his legs to grip the sill. "Is everything okay? Your heartbeat accelerated by three and a half beats per second for a minute."

His eyes are darting throughout her room, searching for any threat that might be hidden in the somewhat messy depths. But all Chloe can think about is the fact that he had been listening to her heart, the way she had been listening to his. He knew how fast it should go, and immediately came to her defense should its pace increase.

"Chloe?" He asks again, hopping into the room without sound even as his converse hit the floor. He moves slowly toward, as though afraid of spooking her, and she realizes that she should probably answer him before he thinks she's gone into shock something.

"I, I'm fine." Chloe shakes her head before smiling at him a little. "You got here fast."

"I was worried."

"Does this mean you're gonna stop avoiding me now?" Chloe asks hopefully.

"I'm not avoiding you." Alek immediately looks away. "I've been busy."

"Then how come you've been watching the house from across the street instead of from the roof, where you should be?"

"Routine is the greatest ally of those that mean you harm. If I'm always in the same place, they'll know where to go to remove me from the picture and make you an easier target."

"Been practicing that little speech long?"

"Since Thursday." He confirms but there's the start of his familiar smirk on his face.

"I give it a seven out of ten." Chloe smiles because this is good. This is them getting back to normal. This is the way they operate, all snide comments and good-natured mocking. "The information was solid, but the delivery could have used some more work."

"I'll take that into account."

"By which you mean that you'll ignore everything I've just said."

"I'll start taking your advice when you start taking mine, deal?"

"I'm the Uniter, shouldn't you _have_ to listen to me?"

"Only in a fascist society ruled under an iron fist and operated as a police state."

"Did you just compare me, the _savior_ of our entire race, to a dictator?"

"It's possible. Though if you didn't catch it, I'm hardly likely to point it out to you, am I?"

Chloe laughs as his smirk finally spreads across his face. "You're an ass."

"I know it's a great ass, but honestly, Chloe, there _is_ more to me." He looks over his shoulder at his posterior before meeting Chloe's gaze again. "My eyes are up here."

They laugh together for a second, but Chloe can't just let it go. What if he goes back to ignoring her again as soon as he leaves?

"Alek," and her tone is serious despite all the joking around that had been going on a second ago. "Are we okay now?"

**AN: Sorry to cliffhanger you guys, but I really wanted to write Alek's answer from his perspective.**


	4. Until My Heart is Black and Blue

**AN: You guys are AWESOME. I can't believe I hit 100 reviews! Here's chapter four, let me know what you think.**

**Warnings: language**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Until My Heart is Black and Blue**

"Alek," And she sounds much too serious to Alek's ear. Much too serious for the meaningless banter their conversation has devolved into. "Are we okay now?"

He's not sure how to answer that question honestly. Is he suddenly over her? Hell no. But he can put aside his own embarrassment and jealousy. For her he can pretend that being her friend is all he ever wanted from Chloe King.

Because that is what has been asked of him.

That is what is asked of him, here and now, without words or even conscious thought on her part. So he will do it. Pretend that she had not hurt him carelessly, thoughtlessly.

Because he will always be there for Chloe, in whatever capacity she wanted him. He'll be there for her until his heart is black and blue and bruised and bloodied. Until it is nothing more than the mangled muscled that had so betrayed him.

Because, while she would never ask it of him, he knows that it is what she _needs_.

"Yeah, Chloe." Alek smiles for her, a real smile, because he knows she likes them better than his casual smirks. "We're okay."

He even means it, mostly. He'd rather have Chloe in his life as his friend than have her be something distant and untouchable. He had tried to see if he could do it. If he could separate his emotions from his job. Protect Chloe King because she was the _Uniter_, instead of because she was _Chloe_. But the panic, real and uncontrollable, he'd felt when Chloe's heart speed up and he thought she was in danger proved that he couldn't.

Chloe mattered to him. More than he'll ever let her know again.

"Yay!" She squeals, the way he'd seen other teenaged girls do before but had never actually been on the receiving end of, and then throws her arms around him. She squeezes him tightly, a massive grin splitting her face before he buries it in his shoulder.

And Alek allows himself to smile as well; this small, soft little thing that he'd vehemently deny his face was capable of making. It's an expression he'd worn before his parents had been killed, before he had learned to hide everything real behind a wall of sarcasm and arrogance.

Which is, of course, when Chloe's mom bursts in unannounced. "Chloe, it's after eleven. You can't…" Whatever it is Chloe can't do is immediately forgotten. Chloe jumps away from Alek, blushing and stuttering incoherently. "Chloe King! We have discussed boys in the bedroom!"

"It's not what it looks like!" Chloe goes for a classic defense. Too bad it's also the one most often refuted…

"It's not a boy in your room with the door closed?" She cocks an eyebrow, and Chloe is left opening and closing her mouth ineffectually before her mother continues. "Who managed to sneak in without me noticing?" Something seems to occur to Meredith, and she pales. "He did sneak in this morning, didn't he? Chloe, please for the love of god, tell me he didn't spend the night."

"What? No!" Chloe looks like she could die of embarrassment at any point, and since it is his job to protect her lives, Alek decides to step in.

"Mrs. King, I just got here. I didn't realize Chloe would still be in bed; I just wanted to surprise her."

"Why?" Mrs. King rounds on him now, apparently have reached the threshold of her freak meter. "What on earth couldn't you do while using the front door?"

"A candid snapshot of her in her pj's?"

"Alek?" Chloe whispers harshly. "Stop helping."

"I'm joking. I just wasn't sure if you'd let me in, Mrs. King. Given the, oddly similar, circumstances of our first meeting.

"And you figured sneaking in was the best way to rectify that?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." By which he means approximately five seconds when he thought of it.

"Goodbye, Alek."

"Goodbye, Mrs. King." Alek concedes defeat, turning a helpless glance to Chloe. He can't help her out with this one, not unless she wants to reveal her Mai heritage to her mother. And he knows that she doesn't. "Bye, Chloe. Glad we talked. Let's not fight again. Tell Brian I said hi."

And then he's walking down the stairs, since fleeing out the window might have alarmed Meredith just a bit. He waits just outside the door until it's clear that Meredith isn't going to react too harshly to finding him in her daughter's bedroom, again, then he spots Jasmine who quirks an eyebrow at him. A nonchalant shrug and a glance at his watch is all she's going to get from him. She can ask Chloe if she really wants to know what was going on; he needs to get some sleep.

LINE BREAK

Brian shows up about ten minutes after Alek relieves Jasmine. Alek, wanting to make up for lost time and put Chloe at ease about the whole avoiding her thing, is chatting with her while she folds the newest collection of clothes and making himself "useful", Chloe's words, by putting the items on various racks and shelves.

"Hey, Chloe." Brian greets. He completely ignores Alek, but he doesn't hold it against him. Or, well, he tries not to. After all, he's putting clothes up. Brian probably just assumes he works here since Alek has never actually been visible the other times Brian has come by.

"Hi." She smiles at him and her eyes light up.

Alek slowly forces his hands to unclench from fists, wills himself to simply continue. Don't make a scene. Don't make an argument out of something that cannot be helped. So he keeps putting clothes in the appropriate places while Chloe chats with her boytoy.

In a matter of minutes, the clothes Chloe has already folded and laid in the proper piles run out, but Alek needs to keep moving, keep busy, so he doesn't rip Brian's throat out. With his teeth. This leads to him taking on Chloe's abandoned task of folding and sorting. It distracts him from listening in on the actual content of the conversation, the sound of their voices no more than a gentle hum in the back of his mind. He can even allow himself to pretend that she's just helping a customer.

"Alek, what are you doing?" Chloe laughs when she notices, ten minutes after he started, that he is folding clothes in her stead.

"Folding." Alek looks at her like it's obvious because it really kind of is. "Duh."

"Yes," she rolls her eyes. "I can see that. Why?"

"Something to do."

"You don't have to do my job, Alek. You have your own."

"Yes, but mine coincides nicely with yours." Alek smirks, "And I need to be doing something, or I end up ripping things to shreds like an ADHD cat."

"Wait," Brian intercedes. "He doesn't work here?"

"Nope." Alek demands that his tone remain not only cordial, but downright friendly. "Just visiting…productively."

Brian looks questioningly at Chloe, and Alek wants to rip _him_ to shreds for thinking he has any right to question any part of her life. She may be dating him, or he could be stuck as firmly in the friends zone as Alek, it doesn't matter. Chloe's life is hers to decide and if she wants to surround her workplace with men, then, you know what, she fucking _can_.

"Alek goes to school with me." She explains him away. He wishes she wouldn't. Let the little prick wonder, it's none of his damn business anyways. Alek wishes that Brian would jump to his own conclusions, that Alek and Chloe are having a sordid affair, that the blonde folding clothes in her store is the reason she won't let him kiss her.

But, of course, he's fucking _perfect_. So he just smiles and trusts her not to lie to him.

"You know what, Chloe?" Alek asks in his most casual voice, just barely holding down all the frustration trying to drown him. "I think I'll take your advice."

"About the speech?" Chloe asks confusion written all over her face. "Cause I was being sarcastic…and what else do you have to speechify?" He eyes widen as she realizes she just given him a massive opportunity to start jabbering at her about Mai and combat and anything else he decides she might need to know. "Nevermind, don't answer that."

"Not the speech, Chloe." Alek calms her even though the only thing he wants to do is bury his fist in Brian's confused face. "About work. I'll leave you to your job and go back to doing mine."

He manages to flash her the smallest of smiles before he's striding out the door.


	5. Peace, My Friend, is Temporary

**AN: I'm sooo sorry this update took so long. My internet simply refused to cooperate. Let me know what you think.**

**AN2: All my Chloe POV titles bite. Still open to suggestions in that regard.**

**Warnings: language**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Peace, My Friend, is Temporary**

The sky overhead is heavy and overcast, threatening rain at any second when Brian invites Chloe out for her lunch break. Somewhere that isn't the coffeehouse across the street, but still close. And because she can't resist him unless his life is on the line, she agrees. She can faintly hear Alek's heartbeat following a ways behind them, and she feels bad for him. To have to watch her with Brian when he feels the way he does.

And not in the classic high school sense either, where they all have to be in the same place at once and chances are he's going to stumble across something he doesn't want to see at some point. No, in the 'his job is follow her everywhere she goes so she doesn't die, he has to listen to every word they say and watch every move she makes' kind of way.

Chloe can't imagine what it's like to have to do that. And Alek had done it for months without a word or even an odd look.

Brian slips a hand around hers, and Chloe takes a minute to savor the moment before she has to let go. She tries to be discreet, acts like she needs to dig something out of her purse, and sticks her hand in her pocket when she's done. It's not because she doesn't want to hold his hand. She does. She really, really does. But she told him they had to be friends, and she _meant_ it.

To be anything more is a death sentence.

* * *

><p>The deli is small, but nice. The food is great, the company even better, and it might just be perfect until Chloe notices a man watching her. He's dressed entirely in black, and seems to have a scowl permanently affixed to his face. He catches her catching him staring and sneers the most vile grin she's ever seen. It holds nothing but the promise for pain. <em>Her<em> pain as another life slips through her fingers.

Chloe shudders, and ignores Brian's adorable look of concern; she doesn't have time to be normal girl right now. Her fingers are dialing Alek before her brain can catch up. He picks up before the first ring is finished.

"I see him. Act normal."

"But—"

"Chloe, please. He won't do anything in public. Just do as I say."

"What about—"

"The human will be fine. You will be fine. Just relax and let me do my job."

"Be careful."

"Be safe."

Chloe puts her phone away and tries to pretend that there isn't a psycho sitting in the corner planning her early and incredibly painful death. Again.

"Everything okay?" Brian asks with this cute worry that Chloe could appreciate more if there was nothing to be worried about.

"Fine." She smiles brightly at him, hoping he believes her. The effect is completely destroyed when Alek stalks into the building, clearly livid. Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open.

"You bloody arsehole!" Alek screams, storming over to mysterious Order assassin number two. Everyone in the deli stops what they're doing to stare at the enraged British youth shouting at the odd and undaunted man before him. "You can't keep me from him! We're in love, dammit!"

For a second, Chloe has no idea what the hell's going on. Then it clicks. Alek is causing a distraction. In San Francisco, this close to the Village, pretending to be an oppressed gay would stir up more of a response than anything else short of running in and screaming "bomb".

"Let's get out of here." Chloe suggests to Brian, grabbing his hand and pulling gently.

"Wait," Brian's looking over his shoulder at Alek. "Isn't that a friend of yours?"

The assassin catches sight of their attempt to escape and stands quickly, shoving Alek aside in his eagerness to keep his sight on Chloe.

"Stop it!" Alek continues screaming, latching onto the assassin's arm and pretending to be assaulted. "I just want to love him."

"We should help him." Brian says, and as much as she loves that Brian wants to help her friends, she wishes that he would just leave.

"Get out of my way, you inhuman piece of shit." The Order's man of the hour snarls, punching Alek in the face hard enough to whip his head to the side, and suddenly there's a mob of angry deli patrons who want his head on a platter.

"We _have_ to go." Chloe stresses, pulling on his hand again. Brian must hear the panic in her voice because he acquiesces without another word. They slip through the doors as Alek's defending riot kicks into full swing. The sound of sirens echoes distantly, getting closer and closer every second, and Chloe knows that this is the destination.

They run down the street until Chloe remembers Brian is human and untrained and he might actually need to breathe at some point in the near future. Their pace slows, then stalls completely as Brian doubles over to catch his breath.

"What…was…that...about…?" Brian pants out, looking at her strangely. And Chloe can't really blame him. After all, her friend just burst into a restaurant, shouting about his love for another boy, and apparently getting smacked around for it. And she had run. Abandoned him instead of helping.

She's still trying to think of a good excuse when her phone rings.

"Alek?" She asks hopefully.

"In the flesh." But the sound of his voice doesn't come from her phone.


	6. Watch My Face as I Pretend

**AN: Geeze, this thing has taken on a life of its own. I finished writing this and was like "Wait, what? What did I just do?" Let me know what you think.**

**AN2: I owe you guys an apology. I wrote the last scene of the last chapter as Alek calling Chloe and then showing up behind her. But it has been brought to my attention—shoutout to gottaloveJamesPotter- that it seemed like someone else, the assassin perchance, had called from Alek's phone. Wasn't my intention. I tried to find a way to slip that information into this chapter, but it didn't fit into the pacing at all. I sincerely apologize to you all.**

**Warnings:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Watch My Face as I Pretend to Feel No Pain**

"In the flesh." The words come out stronger than he feels. He needs to get to Valentina soon. Before somebody starts noticing that he's not quite right. Before Chloe notices. But he can't leave her. Not now. Not so soon after an attack. She needs him.

Or maybe he needs her.

Chloe whirls around at his voice and smiles, wraps her arms around him in the tightest hug he's ever had the pleasure, and pain, of receiving. He grits his teeth together tightly, and raises his arms to return her embrace. It is agony to lift them, a burning ache pulling through his shoulder and chest, but he does it. She can't know. She has to think everything is okay.

"Jesus, man." Brian gasps out behind them, effectively convincing Chloe to let go without ever having said anything to her at all. Alek hates him for having that kind of power over her. "I hope he's worth it."

It takes Alek a minute to put together what the clueless human is blathering on about. But he remembers. In a slightly slurred, hazy way that alarms him, he remembers. "It's worth it." He confirms meaning protecting Chloe rather than some nameless love interest that doesn't exist.

"Alek, you're bleeding." Chloe says. And for a second he panics a little, thinks he's been too obvious. Then her hands go to his split lip and he realizes that's the only blood she's talking about. He's actually glad for the little stream of life dribbling down his chin. It will help disguise the real problem from her. It wouldn't fool a more experienced Mai, but Chloe was still so new. She doesn't have the control to realize she smells more of the copper-tinted scent of blood than his lip can account for.

"Just a scratch." The smirk he forces himself to form tugs at the sore and stings, but he does it anyways. It's what she expects. He has to do what is normal. Has to pretend that everything is fine. Just until—his phone vibrates. Three short bursts that signal a text. He knows it's Jasmine letting him know that she's here. That he can go now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Chloe asks, all wide-eyed concern and softness. He wants to just fall to his knees and tell her that no, it's not okay. He wants to let her gather him up in her arms and let her gentle hands hold him until the pain goes away.

But that is selfish and he knows it. So he keeps his smirk firm and laughs, ignoring the way it sends liquid lightning arcing through him.

"I'm fine, Chloe." He reassures her. "You should get back to work."

"You should take the rest of the day off." Still worried about him. She shouldn't be. He knows it's far too late to worry now.

"Maybe I will." He smiles; it hurts less than twisting his lips into a sneer. He doesn't tell her he called Jasmine immediately after he'd gotten away from the crowd. She stares at him for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what he doesn't want her to know. But he gives nothing away, smothering his emotions behind the impenetrable wall that has only ever failed him once. She nods stiffly, coming to some sort of agreement with herself that Alek is sure will end in disaster. She and Brian walk away, shooting looks over their shoulders at him occasionally.

Alek waits until they round the corner before leaning up against the building and slowly sliding down. Nobody pays him any attention at all. No one ever notices a teen just loitering on the streets. He blends into the scenery. Slow, shuddering breaths tear through him and he feels like he's ripping his insides apart with each one. Then the shaking sets in, a rapid trembling that wracks through his whole body with explosive violence. It hurts.

It _hurts_.

His hands start going numb and he wonders what the support team he asked for is waiting for. Except, he already knows. They're tailing Chloe. Because it's true, what he had told her all those days ago. She is all that _matters_. She is the Uniter. And he may be part of the pride, and Valentina's nephew, but the fact of the matter is that, in the grand scheme of things, Alek does _not_.

With the Order growing bold enough to send someone in broad daylight, in public with a dozen witnesses, they can take no risks.

Alek is expendable.

Chloe is not.

His head falls forward and eyes ease closed, speckles of sickly yellow and ruby red dancing behind his eyelids. His shirt, heavy and wet, clings to him underneath his carefully zipped jacket.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Overhead the skies finally open into a torrential downpour. Alek laughs this broken little wheezing laugh as the Heavens cry.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

He isn't listening to the rain.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

**AN: God, I almost cried writing this. It pained me to do that to Alek, but I **_**had**_** to do it.**


	7. Interlude By an Innocent Bystander

**AN: So some people aren't going to like this chapter. For a couple of reasons. One of which is the fact that not only is it from Brian's perspective, but it also portrays in a way that isn't just not negative, it's downright positive. I'm sorry. But, while I don't like Brian/Chloe, I don't actually dislike Brian. As such, I don't really want to bash him. And its contents are so very, very important to the plot of this story.**

**AN2: Alek is going to be referred to as "Alex" during this chapter. Mostly because Brian doesn't realize his name is "**_**Alek**_**". He's only met him once and, honestly, he wasn't paying that much attention.**

**AN3: I hit 200 reviews last chapter. I can't tell you how happy that made me. I literally don't have the words. And I'm good with words. I'm like a walking, talking, grammatically correct dictionary. So, please, please, keep it up and let me know what you think.**

**Warnings: language**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**Interlude by an Innocent Bystander**

Brian is driving through the terrible downpour with a deep frown. His eyes are narrowed, scanning the streets for a flash of blonde hair and leather. Chloe had been so worried about the guy, and honestly, Brian is pretty sure he isn't as okay as he'd acted. So, being the good guy he is, Brian wants to give the Brit a ride to wherever he's going. Home, hospital, boyfriend's house. Whatever.

It isn't until the fourth time he's scouted the same street that Brain realizes that the boy he's looking for hasn't moved an inch from where he and Chloe had left him. He's just sitting there, propped up against the wall of a building. The rain's beating down on the poor guy, drenching his blonde hair until it shines black. His clothes are drenched, hanging heavy off his lithe frame.

Brian pulls up as close to the curb as he can, rolling the window down. Water starts leaking in through the large opening in his vehicle as he shouts out, "Hey, Alex! Get in!"

The blonde doesn't move. Doesn't lift his head to look at him. Doesn't open his eyes. Brian would think he was sleeping if it weren't for the rain pounding the streets. No one could sleep while in the middle of this kind of storm.

"Shit." Brian swears, opening the door and getting smacked in the face by rain hard as BB bullets. He hunches his shoulders and runs over to the downed Brit. He doesn't make a sound as Brian grabs his arm, puts it over his shoulder, and hauls his unconscious ass into the car. It's only as he's shoving Alex into the passenger's seat, jostling him enough that his jacket skews that Brian notices that his shirt is soaked in crimson red and rusty brown. Blood. "What the…"

Alex's eyes pop open, jade green and dangerous, and Brian is reminded horribly of a wounded panther preparing to attack because it's scared it doesn't have another choice. He even thinks the pupils are slit like a cat's. "241 Hollis Rd, Maquis Apartments. 1803."

"Hey, buddy," Brian says with his best calm voice, though he's fighting blind panic at this point. There's some kid in his car, bleeding out as they speak. "You need to go to the hospital."

"No." The word is nothing more than a snarl as his hand clutches Brian's wrist, weak and desperate. The nails dig in painfully and he can feel the skin break, but seeing as the guy is very probably dying, Brian doesn't hold it against him.

"Dude, you are literally _bleeding to death_ in my car." Brian tries to talk some sense into him.

"No hospital." Alex reiterates, frantic in a way Brian doesn't understand.

"Okay." Brian finally agrees because the more time he spends arguing now the less time he has to save the guy's life. The hand clawing into his flesh releases its grip and Alex's eyes close again, pain and exhaustion painted across his face. And then Brian rears away in shocked surprise. "What the hell?"

The hand, which a second ago had torn into his wrist, is literally clawed. As in, lions, tigers, and bears, oh my _claws_. As in, yes, his wrist is bleeding from the gashes those fucking _claws_ just ripped into his arm.

Brian blinks, and the hand is human again. He stares at it, trying to figure out what it is, exactly, he has bleeding all over his leather interior. But then the fact that, whatever he is, Alex is bleeding to death while Brian stares dumbstruck sinks in and he moves his ass behind the wheel.

Halfway to the apartments, he can make the connection with claws and not wanting to go to a hospital, he digs out his cell. His finger pauses over the call button though, suddenly unsure if he _should_ call. Just because Chloe is this guy's friend doesn't mean that she knows what he is. Brian sure as hell wouldn't be broadcasting it if he was…whatever Alex apparently is. Brian can count on one the number of people he'd inform, and just because Chloe was on his list, doesn't mean she's on Alex's.

The phone goes back into his pocket and he drives.

* * *

><p>The Marquis building is big, beautiful, and, Brian can tell, expensive. Which means that smuggling in an unconscious, profusely bleeding Englishman might be a bit difficult. But Brian has to try; it's not like he can just leave him there to die.<p>

Brian steps out in the rain that's still coming down in sheets, and pulls Alex out. He groans a little, a muffled sound of discomfort that shows that even unconscious, Alex is still in pain. There's a puddle of blood pooled in the seat that Brian doesn't want to think about. He's just glad that Alex is still breathing.

He starts dragging the Brit towards the door, eyes darting around nervously. There is no way he's getting in there with no questions asked. No chance that they'll all just turn a blind eye to this macabre scene.

But they do.

The doorman opens the doors without comment, eyes staring, unseeing, straight ahead. The receptionist gasps in shock as Brian hauls Alex over the threshold, then pointedly looks away. Brian cannot believe it. It doesn't make any sense. What kind of hold this guy must have on these people to inspire such…loyalty? Fear?

His hands are shaking as he calls the elevator. He's scared. It's a feeling he'd seldom felt in the years after he'd lost his mother. But he feels it now. Pulse-pounding fear. Over the power Alex seems to have over the employees of his building. Over the very thing Alex is, whatever that may be. Over the fact that the bleeding blonde might just die and Brian might just have to watch him go.

Brian is _afraid_.

The bell dings and the sight that greets him is terrifying. Four men, dressed in black slacks and tight black muscle shirts, flank an imposing woman. And despite the men's bulk, it is the woman that holds all the power here. Brian can feel it in the air. The heavy cloud of authority clings to her, the way it had always clung to his father.

"Thank you, Brian Rezza," She purrs, and it's disconcerting instead of comforting, "for bringing my errant nephew home."

Two men step forward and take Alex's limp body away. Brian tries to ask what's going on, where they're taking him, who the hell these people are. But his voice is silent, unable to make it past the sudden lump in his throat. So he takes a step forward, he wants to follow. To make sure Alex is okay. They may not be friends, but he was important to Chloe, and that means, indirectly, he's important to Brian too.

But a hand halts him, accompanied by a firm shake of the head from a man who is more muscle that anything else.

"This is as far as you go." The woman speaks again, eyes focused on her nephew as he disappears behind a door to what Brian assumes is their apartment.

"Is," Brian croaks, "is he going to be okay?"

"That remains to be seen." She turns back to him. "But it is none of your concern, regardless."

She starts to walk away, and he just lets her go. Who is he to try and get in the middle of this mess? He had done what he'd set out to do. He'd gotten Alex wherever he wanted to go. He'd made sure he'd gotten some help.

Whatever happens now is out of his hands.


	8. As Everything Begins to Fall

**AN: I don't really like this chapter. It kind of feels like…filler, honestly. Let me know what you think.**

**AN2: Still having the worst trouble naming Chloe chapters...very irritating. Suggestions are always appreciated in this regard.**

**Warnings:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**As Everything Begins to Fall**

Chloe is worriedly pricing the new stock when Jasmine walks in. Her face is tight with concealed emotion, and, unlike Alek, she is not doing a good job of hiding it. Tears fill Chloe's eyes as an overwhelming wave of guilt and grief cripples her. She has to put a hand on the counter to remain upright, the other hand flying to her chest. Her heart is breaking, and she doesn't know why.

_Jasmine's_ heart is breaking.

"Oh, god," Chloe gasps out, as the tears begin to fall. "What happened?"

"It's Alek." Jasmine whispers, and Chloe can't breathe.

"What's going on?" Lonna asks with the worst and best timing.

"I have to go." Chloe mumbles, already gathering her things, and heading out the door.

"Your shift doesn't end for another hour and a half." Lonna calls out, annoyed.

"I _have_ to go." Chloe growls back, and, something in her face, the tears or the pain, convinces Lonna that she really shouldn't argue this time.

* * *

><p>The drive to Jasmine's apartment is silent, and it's driving Chloe insane. She wants to ask what's going on, to ramble ineffectively until someone tells her that it's a mistake and Alek is fine. Instead, there is nothing but stifling silence.<p>

Chloe opens her mouth to speak, to break this disquieting hush, but the look on Jasmine's face closes it. Chloe cannot ask her to relive the circumstances surrounding Alek. Not just to appease her own curiosity and ease her own worry. It wouldn't be fair. It would be selfishness, plain and simple.

The parking garage is just as quiet as the trip to it had been, interrupted only by the sound of their steps hitting pavement. Even that is quieter than it should be, their steps light and graceful, even in their hurry. They rush into the elevator, the waiting killing something in Chloe she never knew was alive. When the doors open, both girls all but running to 7B.

The apartment is eerily quiet, just like everything up to now has been. Chloe wants to scream in frustration. She doesn't know what's happening, she doesn't know why, and no one will _tell_ her. Jasmine leads her to a room Chloe's never been in before, and her breath catches.

Alek is lying in a bed, pale as death except were his face has purple-blackened and bruised, wires running in and out him, and Chloe has never seen another human being look so frail. She has seen Alek look anything less strong. But he looks anything but strong now.

The monitor beside his bed beeps steadily with his heartbeat, but she can take little solace in the fact. The I.V drip digging into his wrist makes a constant _drip_, _drip_, _drip_ that echoes in her ears and reminds her that something is so very seriously wrong with her Protector. With her _friend_.

"What happened?" It's a near silent whisper, almost inaudible to even Mai ears, but Chloe wants to know. She cannot pretend that she doesn't for the sake of anyone else.

"He took one for the team." Valentina says solemnly, but earnestly. Like whatever Alek had been doing was more important than his life. She turns her eyes from her unconscious nephew to meet Chloe's, and a tumbling-falling-crashing feeling rushes through her. Suddenly she knows what she wished she didn't. This happened protecting _her_.

Alek could _die_.

Because he was protecting her.

"When?" But she already knows. God, she was so stupid. Alek would never have let something as simple as a split lip stop him from watching over her. He cared too much. He would have never let anyone else take over for him, not if he could help it, he didn't trust anyone else to keep her safe the way he did.

"Earlier today." Valentina's voice is too clinical. Too much powerful pride leader, not enough concerned aunt. "He intercepted an assassin, one clearly not that bright since he attempted lethal force in public, but one that was skilled enough to…well, to do this, before running fleeing back the Order like the coward all the Order is."

"Is he going to be okay?" Chloe forces herself to ask, but she's not sure she wants the answer. Because if he's not, if he won't…

The idea of a world without Alek in it is terrifying.

"The lacerations are deep, and he bled out. Extensively, long before Brian Rezza found him and brought him home." Chloe's eyes widen at the mention of her not-boyfriend, but she can't bring herself to wonder about that right now. She needs Valentina to tell her that Alek is going to be all right. "But he is stable now. The contusions on his face are superficial and nothing more. He'll live."

The breath she hadn't known she'd been holding escapes her in a sigh of relief. And she takes a moment to just be happy that Alek isn't going to die before the weight of everything presses down on her again.

Alek isn't going to die _this_ time.

* * *

><p>Hours later, and Chloe has to go home. There is simply no way to avoid it. Her mother won't let her sleepover on a school night, and, even if she would, she wouldn't let her spend the night <em>here<em>. She considers telling her that Alek is an unconscious, bloody mess, and that Jasmine really needed her there. Which, in and of itself, is not untrue. Jasmine doesn't want to be alone right now any more than Chloe does. But telling her mother that Alek was hurt, really hurt, would lead to questions that Chloe can't answer.

So she goes home, followed silently by three Mai she doesn't know. They're invisible, following her with a practiced ease that makes Chloe distinctly uncomfortable. She doesn't know these people, she doesn't know if she can trust them. And the only person she's trusts unwaveringly isn't there to tell her that it's okay, they're good people, they'll keep her safe.

And it's all her fault.

"Hey, sweetie." Her mom says from the kitchen.

"Hey." She knows she sounds wrong, not the way she should. Tired and sad and guilty. But she is tired and sad and guilty, and she just doesn't have the energy to pretend right now.

"Chloe, what's wrong."

Everything.

"Nothing." Chloe closes her eyes and shakes her head. She can't do the mother-daughter best friends thing right now. "I'm tired. See you in the morning."

She can feel her mother watching her with worried eyes as she ascends the stairs, but she can't deal with it right now. Can't act like everything okay when it really, really isn't.

**AN: You guys didn't really think I'd off Alek, did you?**


	9. The Truth Will Set You Free

**AN: It's another Brian chapter. Sorry, I know he's not well-liked 'round these parts, but this chapter is sooo important. Let me know what you think.**

**AN2: So sorry that it took so long to update this chapter. I rewrote this chapter over and over again, and I'm still not sure I got it quite right...**

**AN3: There will be a couple of "Alex" errors, but Chloe will set the fool straight rather quickly, so don't worry about it. Also, I have a bit of a flashback which includes canon show moments, but I couldn't find the scenes I needed, so they're probably misquoted terribly. If you would be so kind as to point out any errors you may notice, I would be much obliged.**

**Warnings:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Nine Lives of Chloe King".**

**The Truth Will Set You Free…Or Completely Screw with Your Head**

Chloe's door has never seemed so imposing before. He's been here, standing on the brink of rejection, and he'd knocked without any hesitation. But, now, knowing what he does about Alex, he's not sure he can. Or that he should. He didn't call her when the boy, creature?, was bleeding to death in his car for a reason. She might not know. Probably doesn't know.

But she might.

And Brian can't keep this to himself any longer. He has to talk about it with someone, anyone, just to convince himself that he's not going crazy.

But he can't bring himself to knock on the door, physically cannot raise his hand to the wood. Because this is not his secret to give away, and Chloe shouldn't have to bear the burden just because Brian feels inadequate to do it by himself.

He's about to turn and walk away when the door opens, leaving him face to face with Chloe. He smiles out of pure reflex, because seeing her makes him happy even when he's questioning his sanity.

"Brian." She sounds surprised and distracted. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could…talk?" He asks, too far gone to back out now.

"I'd love to, but I was just about to go visit Alek."

"Yeah, well, it's about Alex, so…" She looking at him funny, then he can actually see something click into place behind her eyes. She suddenly understands more about why he's here than Brian does, and he's not sure that doesn't freak him out.

"Alek." Chloe corrects automatically, then gestures with her head, clearly not about to let whatever it is he has to say stop her from getting to Alek's side. "Walk with me?" He wonders if he should be jealous, but he knows that Alek is a lot worse for wear and she's just worried about him. So he's not.

"Of course." He offers his arm, but, for the first time, she doesn't take it. He shrugs the rebuff off, it almost isn't surprising anymore. She's been pulling away from him for weeks now, and he doesn't know why. He's about to ask, to finally put his confusion into words, but he doesn't get the chance.

"So," She asks as they start towards the center of town where Alek's apartment building is. Brian guesses he hadn't been taken to the hospital by his aunt either. "Valentina told me you were the one who found him."

"Valentina? His aunt?" He wants to make sure he knows what their talking about. The lady had called Alek her nephew, right?

"Yeah." Chloe nods. "She said you brought him back to the apartment."

"Yeah…" Brian looks away awkwardly, not sure how to broach the subject. "He, uh, he didn't want to go to the hospital."

"No. He wouldn't." There's this sad, little smile on her face. And it clicks. She knows. She definitely knows.

"Because of the claws?"

Chloe freezes, looks at him with this sort of fear he's never seen in another person. "Claws?" Her voice squeaks. It's kind of cute.

"Yeah, claws." Brian nods, smiles his best boy-next-door grin. He wants to put her at ease, make her realize that he doesn't care that her friend happens to be some kind of freak of nature. "They popped out when I got him in the car."

"Huh…" Suddenly, she's looking anywhere but at him.

"Yep. Just came out and dug into my arm when he started getting panicky. But, then, you already they did that, didn't you." He keeps his voice perfectly level. No trace of accusation or anger. Because he's not angry. He can't blame her for keeping this secret. It was never hers to tell.

"What? No!" Chloe's quickly degenerating into panic, and Brian doesn't understand why. "I had no idea that was even possible."

"You're…" Brian almost laughs because it's pretty funny watching her try to pretend that this is news to her. "You're a terrible liar."

"No, I'm not." She snaps, defensive for a reason Brian cannot even begin to comprehend.

"Look, you knew about the claws, big deal. I get why you didn't tell me."

"You do?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I almost didn't say anything about it to you but," Brian shrugs. "I guess I just don't like keeping things from you."

"Some things are secret for a reason." Chloe whispers as she looks up at him with some kind of emotion he doesn't have a name for. And he realizes she's hiding something else. Something more than the fact that Alek can grow claws whenever he wants.

"What secrets?" He doesn't think he really wants the answer.

"Mai."

"What?"

"It's what Alek is. Mai. Ancient descendants of the Egyptian goddess Basset . Half human, half cat-god."

"Cat-god." And, god help him, he's trying to be understanding-supportive guy, but he's having a little difficulty dealing with this.

"Gifted with speed, agility, strength, and heightened senses." She nods firmly, coming to some decision within herself. "And cursed that a Mai's kiss is lethal to humans."

She won't look at him again.

Suddenly, everything slides into place.

_"Damn, you've got some nails." As the dog barks viciously at her._

_He leans in to kiss her, she leans in then jerks away. "I'm sorry; I can't."_

_"We can take this slow, if you want." A kiss upon her cheek as he feels her stiffen nervously._

_"I don't want to lead you on. Can we just be friends?"_

"You're one of them." It comes out far more accusatory than he'd intended, but it's kind of a big deal. He's not exactly in the best control of his emotions. He just found out his not-girlfriend who he'd been hoping would _become_ his girlfriend isn't freaking human. She's part cat. Cat-god. Whatever.

Chloe steps back from him, hurt in her eyes, and Brian feels like a dick. And he feels stupid for feeling like a dick. He wasn't the one keeping this huge, possibly _fatal_ secret. He wasn't the one running around playing "normal human" while hiding the Kiss of Death in his back pocket. He would have told her if it had been him. He would have explained everything when the time came to "just be friends".

And she. Didn't. tell. Him.

"Don't be mad."

"I'm not." And he's not. Not really. He's hurt that she didn't trust him enough to tell him. He thought they had something special. That once in a blue moon, I think I knew you in another life, instant connection. But apparently they don't. "I just…I need time to process."

It doesn't seem unreasonable to him. It's not exactly something that you hear and instantly move past. She doesn't have a weird ex-boyfriend or OCD or something like that. She's a fricking _cat_. Brian reserves the right to go home and freak the fuck out.

He feels bad, turning tail and running without saying anything else. But he doesn't have words to explain this. He is not equipped to deal with this kind of drama. He came home to find the truth about his mother. Finding a cute, smart, funny girl who had the sweetest smile was just a bonus. A huge bonus. He did not sign up for the "your girl's a supernatural demi-god" package. He isn't some character in a primetime teen drama.

This isn't part of his world, his life. And he needs to take some time to figure out if he wants it to be.

**AN: There! I finally got rid of Brian in a nice, clean, completely plausible way. I've been working up to this since chapter five and, boy, does it feel good to get that subplot over and done with.**


End file.
